Collector Spoons
June 19, 2015 1:18 PM Subscribe
Trying to find a home for Collector Spoons from my father's estate.
My father just died, and I'm going through his things and sorting them out for everyone. No one wants a collection of 20 collector ( or souvenir) spoons. Most come in cases. Mostly from Alberta, some from London England. Should I add it to the goodwill pile for donation, or should I have them evaluated? Is Evaluated, what is the best approach? I forgot, some have a tarnished Silver stain to them. So they may contain silver.
My father just died, and I'm going through his things and sorting them out for everyone. No one wants a collection of 20 collector ( or souvenir) spoons. Most come in cases. Mostly from Alberta, some from London England. Should I add it to the goodwill pile for donation, or should I have them evaluated? Is Evaluated, what is the best approach? I forgot, some have a tarnished Silver stain to them. So they may contain silver.
Best answer: As an antiques and collectibles dealer: sorry, but Goodwill. They're only of value to the person who picked it up on their travels and purchased it as a way to remember their trip, there's no resale market. Worth pennies a piece at the most.
Edit: You're right, there may be some silver value, but those are likely silverplate (unless they feel significantly heavier than the others, like more than 2x or 3x heavier) and collectible spoons are tiny, so the amount of scrap metal value is probably still not worth the effort. Take to a jeweler if you're really concerned about getting rid of precious metals.
posted by AzraelBrown at 2:37 PM on June 19, 2015
Edit: You're right, there may be some silver value, but those are likely silverplate (unless they feel significantly heavier than the others, like more than 2x or 3x heavier) and collectible spoons are tiny, so the amount of scrap metal value is probably still not worth the effort. Take to a jeweler if you're really concerned about getting rid of precious metals.
posted by AzraelBrown at 2:37 PM on June 19, 2015
As another junk dealer: donate, there's just no value there. The odds that they are sterling are extremely low, and if they are they will be stamped as such. Silver plating (which tarnishes) adds no value.
Personally, I might offer them up on freecycle in hopes of finding a spoon collector who would actually enjoy them.
posted by kmennie at 3:20 PM on June 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
Personally, I might offer them up on freecycle in hopes of finding a spoon collector who would actually enjoy them.
posted by kmennie at 3:20 PM on June 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks All. I'll let my mother review them if there are any that are memorable pieces, the rest to Goodwill.
posted by Alt255 at 4:17 PM on June 19, 2015
posted by Alt255 at 4:17 PM on June 19, 2015
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posted by Thella at 1:38 PM on June 19, 2015